Social / Affordable Housing Needs in Redbridge

[Mark]

According to the blurb on the current Redbridge Affordable Housing Strategy 08 - 11 (and I assume the Office for National Statistics):

"Redbridge has the highest level of private sector housing in London with 90% of the total stock of housing. Affordable housing in the Borough represents only 10% of the total."

The borough has to build 400 new affordable houses per year in the next five years to cater for social needs.

The council only owns 4.5 thousand affordable homes and needs to own more, and this number is decreasing. It needs to own more in order to provide for those families who would otherwise be homeless.

Take a look at the policy above for background info.

[jawal1]

Mark is being modest about the amount of research that he has already done on this subject.

It is worth looking at the following posts and comments:

here and here and also the Ilford Forum here

The Headmaster of Aldenham School, wrote a letter to "The Times" in 1937 - to paraphrase, slightly:

"The [Council] really wanted to create artificial centres of population in the few precious and unspoiled areas .... under the pretence of 'serving' communities which either have no desire to be so served or which do not exist."

It would seem that, if Redbridge wished to provide 400 homes per annum for the next five years, it could do so by making empty properties habitable. I wonder if they have thought of that?

There needs to be a proper debate, involving the Public, about wholesale housing development on allegedly "vacant" land within the Borough. 2010 could be a critical year for the future of our built environment.